Substance use disorder (SUD) is a significant public health challenge in the United States.  According to the 2021 National Survey on Drug Use and Health, an estimated 29.5 million individuals aged 12 and older had an alcohol use disorder, while 24 million had a drug use disorder.  Beyond the direct health impacts of substance use, individuals with SUD may also face increased exposure to harmful environmental chemicals that can further compromise health.  Drugs produced through clandestine and unregulated manufacturing processes can expose individuals to a range of contaminan

The Wadsworth Center has identified Borrelia mayonii in blacklegged ticks (Ixodes scapularis) collected in New York State – the first time this Lyme disease-like pathogen has been detected outside the upper Midwest. B.

National Institutes of Health (NIH) grant proposals are reviewed for scientific merit by study sections composed of expert scientists. These panels carefully evaluate and rank submitted applications, with funding decisions based on scientific rigor, innovation, feasibility, and potential impact. Study section service requires a substantial commitment of time and effort, including extensive reading and re-reading of applications, objective evaluation, written critiques, in-depth discussion with peer reviewers during meetings, and submission of final scores and summary statements.

The Single Use Permit process has replaced the Non-Permitted Laboratory request process.  Applications for a Single Use Permit must be submitted by the TESTING LABORATORY using eCLEP. We will no longer accept requests from the REFERRING ENTITY.Please refer to the new Single Use Permit webpage for more information.

The Wadsworth Center Bacteriology Laboratory is collaborating with Albany Medical College on a study evaluating whether the use of electrocautery, rather than a traditional scalpel, for skin incisions can reduce surgical site infections in patients undergoing shoulder arthroplasty. The study will assess both superficial and deep bacterial cultures to determine differences in bacterial contamination associated with the two surgical techniques.

Patrick Parsons, Director of the Division of Environmental Health Sciences at the Wadsworth Center, participated in a series of on-camera interviews with Spectroscopy, a technical publication that covers advances in spectroscopic techniques used in analytical chemistry laboratories. Dr.

The Clinical Laboratory Evaluation Program (CLEP) within the Wadsworth Center regulates clinical laboratory testing in New York State. Among its regulatory responsibilities, CLEP is currently the only regulatory agency in the United States that conducts formal review of Laboratory Developed Tests (LDTs). While clinical laboratories outside New York State may develop and use LDTs without FDA approval, any laboratory seeking to test New York State specimens must obtain CLEP approval. 

Click here for Clarification on Clinical Laboratory Testing Personnel Requirements; glucometry

A new research publication coauthored by the Wadsworth Center’s Division of Environmental Health Sciences highlights a link between secondhand tobacco smoke (SHS) exposure and sleep disturbances in children. SHS remains a significant public health concern, and emerging evidence suggests it can adversely affect sleep through both biological and behavioral mechanisms.

Dr. Patrick Parsons, Director of the Division of Environmental Health Sciences (DEHS) and Chief of the Laboratory of Inorganic and Nuclear Chemistry at the Wadsworth Center, delivered an invited lecture at the Eastern Analytical Symposium (EAS) on November 19, 2025, in Princeton, New Jersey. EAS is one of the premier analytical chemistry conferences in the United States, drawing experts from across the country—particularly the Northeast—to highlight advances in chemical measurement science.

Proposed regulations to amend Subpart 58-1 and the addition of Subpart 58-6 to replace Part 19 are available for public comment at

A manuscript coauthored by scientists from the New York State Department of Health’s Wadsworth Center and Bureau of Communicable Disease Control, in collaboration with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and epidemiologists from the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene and Westchester County Department of Health, has now been published in Open Forum Infectious Diseases and selected as the journal’s Editor’s Choice article.

Dr. Siân Owen, Principal Investigator in the Wadsworth Center’s Division of Genetics, delivered the keynote address at the 2nd Annual Buffalo Phage Meeting on December 11, 2025, at the University at Buffalo. The meeting brought together researchers, clinicians, and trainees from across Western New York to highlight advances in bacteriophage research and applications to medicine, public health, and biotechnology. 

Scientists from the Wadsworth Center’s Division of Environmental Health Sciences (DEHS) coauthored a new study published in Nature Communications that sheds light on how plastic-associated endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs) may contribute to hidradenitis suppurativa (HS), a chronic inflammatory skin disease with limited treatment options.

For more than 25 years, the Environmental Proficiency Test and Validation Unit (EPTAVU), of the Wadsworth Center’s Division of Environmental Health Sciences (DEHS), produced a comprehensive suite of environmental proficiency testing (PT) samples for hundreds of laboratories accredited through the New York State Department of Health’s Environmental Laboratory Approval Program (ELAP).

Dr. Janice Pata, Director of the Wadsworth Center’s Division of Scientific Cores, delivered a virtual seminar to the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis on December 9, 2025.

The Wadsworth Center’s tuberculosis (TB) testing program for Mycobacterium tuberculosis is among the leading diagnostic programs in the United States and is internationally recognized for its scientific excellence and public health impact. Senior scientists from the program are regularly invited to participate in major international meetings, reflecting its global leadership in TB diagnostics and surveillance.

The Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) has recognized the GUARDIAN study as one of the nine most impactful, newsworthy, or novel research studies published in the past year. This distinction places GUARDIAN among JAMA’s annual “Research of the Year” selections, highlighting its significance to medicine and public health. 

The New York State Department of Health (NYSDOH) Bureau of HIV/Sexually Transmitted Infections (STI) Field Services conducts HIV rapid testing and is registered as a Limited Service Laboratory through the Clinical Laboratory Evaluation Program at the Wadsworth Center. Dr. Linda Styer, Director of the Wadsworth Center’s Bloodborne Viruses Laboratory, is the Laboratory Director for this NYSDOH Limited Service Laboratory. In this role, Dr.

Wadsworth Center scientist Dr. Kurunthachalam Kannan, Deputy Director of the Division of Environmental Health Sciences (DEHS) and Chief of the Laboratory of Organic Analytical Chemistry, delivered a prestigious invited plenary lecture at the Microplastics in Focus conference held in Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia, on November 27-28, 2025. Dr.